


Becoming What They Hate (mer danny au(

by StormBr1nger



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Body Modification, F/M, Mer!Danny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 12,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27942191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormBr1nger/pseuds/StormBr1nger
Summary: After being cursed to slowly become a mer, the very things his parents hunt, young Danny Fenton must learn to adapt to the changes and maybe even make new friends along the way.
Relationships: Danny Fenton/Sam Manson
Comments: 17
Kudos: 73





	1. Chapter 1

It was an oddly sunny day when we find one sleep-deprived Danny Fenton groggily making his way downstairs for a hopefully non-sentient breakfast. How his mother somehow manages to bring the food to life, Danny will never know. He also doesn't want to know, for that matter.

Walking into the kitchen, he notices that its just Jazz sitting at the table while simultaneously reading a book (no doubt about psychology) and eating a bowl of cereal. Danny wishes he had the kind of coordination to pull that off. If he tried, he would end up smacking himself in the face with the spoon. Snorting at the image that produced, he made his way over to the table, pouring himself a bowl of (very non-sentient) cereal.

"Hey, where's-" His question was cut short by an explosion coming from the basement that rocked the house, followed by a shouted "SORRY MADS!"

Deadpanning, he states, "Nevermind, I got my answer."

It wasn't a full minute later when the thunderous footsteps of Jack Fenton clombered up the stairs and into the previously quiet kitchen.

"Good morning kids! It's a good day to be a Fenton!"

Deciding to humor his old man, Danny answered, "Why's that, Dad?'

"Well, sweetie." Walking from behind the bulking frame of her husband, Maddie answers instead; all while Jack is smiling like a toddler on his birthday. "We just finished the fenton speeder."

Jazz cut in, "Do I dare ask what it does?"

Barking out a laugh, the Fenton parents seemed amused while their children just gave them deadpan expressions.

"To put it in simple terms, its a modified speed boat."

"This baby can reach speeds of over 200mph on a good day and is equipped with all the latest weaponry." Grabbing hold of Maddie's waist and holding her by his side while striking a pose more dramatic than it had any right to be, he continued, "The Fentons will go down in history as the greatest mer hunters ever!"

Danny mumbled under his breath "More like the ONLY mer hunters ever."

"What was that, sweetie?"

"Nothing!"

"Tell you kids what! Why don't we take a family trip this afternoon after school and test is out as a family!"

"Hard pass." Was Jazz's Answer. Danny couldn't help but agree, but alas, fate had different plans.

"You'll come with us, won't you Danny-boy?" Aww man. Nobody could resist the Jack Fenton patented puppy face. Sagging in his seat slightly, he gave in.

"Fine." While his parents beamed in the background, he couldn't help but sulk. This was gonna suck.

_LINE BREAK_

This sucked. That was all Danny could think as he sat sulking on the new Fenton Speeder. All there was to do was sit and listen to his parents' excited rambling. He didn't dare bring his non-waterproof phone for fear of his dad's steering. It was awful. He was surprised they hadn't tipped over ages ago. Hearing his name called, he came out of his depression-induced daze.

"Huh? What?"

"I asked if you were alright, sweetie." Looking up to the concerned face of his mother that he is now aware is there, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty about his sulky attitude.

Sighing in defeat, he relented. Smiling slightly, he answered, "I'm fine. Just a bit bored is all."

Chuckling, she said, "That's to be expected. Not much activity going on right now. We're not quite sure why though." Suddenly, as if fate had planned it, the boat started to rock violently.

"Jack! What's going on?!"

"I don't know, Mads! Nothing's showing up on the radar!"

Poor Danny, lacking the strength to properly hold on, got thrown overboard with a particularly violent shake. Danny vaguely remembered hearing his parents' panicked shouts as his body hit the frigid water. Panicking himself, he was desperate to reach the surface, his untrained lungs already yearning for air. Truly panicking, he kicked his legs as hard and fast as he could, unsure if he was going up or down, while hoping that he was going the right way. He was almost out of air, when a blurry silhouette came into view, the only thing he was able to see clearly was the glowing red eyes. The creature, for that's what it was, stopped right in front of the boy who had stopped struggling as oxygen-deprivation began to take its hold. In his dimming state of consciousness, he heard him speak.

"My dear boy. You have nothing to fear, as I do not wish to harm you." As his final air was stripped from his lungs, he heard him say. "I just wish for you to join me."

It was then that a glowing light encased the dying boy's body. Danny felt he should probably be panicking more than he is, but he just couldn't bring himself to. The light was so peaceful. Closing his eyes, Danny Fenton lost consciousness.

_LINE BREAK_

Upon seeing their son go overboard, the Fenton parents are in a state of panic.

"What do we do?!"

"I don't know, Jack!" The ship was still shaking violently. "Its too dangerous to go in after him!"

"I don't care!" With that declaration, Jack started making his way to the edge of the still rocking boat.

"Jack! Wait!" Not taking heed of his wife's warning, Jack threw himself into the water. Without wasting a beat, he immediately started searching for his son, forcing his eyes to stay open despite the harsh stinging the salt water caused. There! Following a strange flash of green light, the adult Fenton saw his son's limp body being held by none other than the silhouette of a mer with blood red eyes. Without thinking of the consequences, he rushed to his son's aid. The mer, having seen his approach, let go of the unconscious child and quickly swam away. Taking his son's body into his arms, Jack quickly made his way back to the surface. As soon as both his and Danny's heads breached the water surface, he was met with the worried voice of his wife.

"Jack! Are you ok?!"

Not bothering to answer her question, he replied. "Take Dann-o for me." Following his instructions, she reached forward and pulled the limp boy onto the deck of the ship. She was ready to start CPR when he started coughing up water and taking greedy gulps of air. Jack, with his eyes closed because of the salt water, clombered his way back onto the Fenton Speeder.

"Is he ok?"

"He'll be alright." Turning her teary eyed gaze to her soaking wet husband, she continued, "You saved him, Jack."

Puffing out his chest, with his eyes still closed, Jack replied proudly. "Of course I did. I'm a Fenton!"

Chuckling at her husband's antics, she leaned over and gave him an affectionate peck on the cheek.

"Let's head home, then you can tell me what happened."


	2. Chapter 2

When Danny woke up, he was greeted to the sight of his ceiling. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a booming voice shout next to him.

"Maddie! He's awake!"

It wasn't long before Danny was greeted to the worried face of his mother.

"Danny, sweetie. How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess."

"Do you remember what happened?"

That sombered Danny up. Because, unfortunately, he did remember what happened. Quite vividly.

"Yeah...There was this...thing."

Both parents shared uneasy looks with each other. Honestly, they were kind of hoping that he wouldn't remember. An experience like that had to be traumatizing.

"Well, you're ok now, Danny." His mother reassured. Not knowing what else to do, he just nodded his head. Seeming satisfied, Maddie gave a subtle nod back. "Ok, you wait here. I'll bring you some dinner."

"You don't have to. I can-

"Sit there and rest." His mother finished for him. Withering under her motherly glare, Danny shrunk within himself and agreed to stay put. Satisfied that he'll stay in bed, she headed for the door, discreetly signaling for Jack to do the same. Once both parents were gone, Danny sighed with relief. He loved them, he really did. But like any parents, they can tend to be a bit much to handle; especially when he got hurt. He was broken out of his musings, however, when his door opened and Jazz walked in.

"Hey, little brother."

"Hey."

"..."

"..."

"ok, what is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for a reason. What is it?"

Seeming to be contemplating her answer, she finally said, "Are you ok?"

Sighing to himself, "Jazz, Mom and Dad already asked-"

"No, I meant mentally."

Oh. Oh. For the love of-

"Jazz. You are not psycho-analyzing me right now."

"But-"

Holding his hand up to stop her, "No, seriously. I am not your patient, please don't psycho-analyze me right now."

Seemingly disappointed, Jazz left the room without another word.

Danny nearly groaned aloud when his door opened again. He was about to go on a very loud (and probably very rude) rant, when his mother's form walked through the door, holding a bowl of hot soup in one hand, and cup of water in the other.

"Here, sweetie."

Setting the soup on Danny's lap and the cup on the bedside table, she sat down on the end of the bed.

"Mom...?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Could I get some privacy please?"

"...I don't know..."

"Mom. I know you're worried about me. But please?"

Sighing to herself, "Fine."

Getting up, she looked back to her son with a worried glance one more time before she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Once again sighing with relief, Danny turned his attention to the hot soup on his lap. Taking the spoon in his hand, he tentatively sipped at the hot soup. Despite how normal everything looked, Danny couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. It was then that he noticed a weird black spot on his forearm. Bringing it up closer, he noticed it almost seemed to have a green sheen to it. Looking at his other arm, he confirmed that it was there as well.

Bringing his hand up, he felt the dark spot and noted that it felt smooth, much different than skin should feel. Not knowing what else to do, he called for his mom.

"MOM!"

It wasn't 30 seconds later when Maddie burst into the room.

"Danny? What is it?"

Holding out his arms for her to see, "Look! I don't even know what that is!"

Taking her son's arm in her hand, she got a closer look. She almost dropped it in surprise when she realized what the black spots were.

"Jack! Get in here!"

Bursting into the room, Jack took notice of his wife's panicked horror-stricken face and son's confusion.

"Mads? What is it?"

Without saying another word, she showed him their son's arms. All went silent.

"Mom? Dad?"

"Jack...you said you remember seeing a light...?"

"Yes...?"

"Do you think..." Both parents looked at eachother, then at their son who was starting to become very worried.

"Guys? What is it?" Before he knew it, he was being smothered by his parents, his soup soaking into the carpet from where it was knocked off of his lap.

"Oh, Danny! We're so sorry!" Now Danny was very worried. He had never seen his mother cry before, but here she was wailing over some dark spots.

"Guys! What is it?" When they went silent and backed up to show their tear stained faces, he knew he was not going to like what they had to say.

"Danny..." While Maddie started with the full intention of telling her son their discovery, she was unable to form a single coherent sentence. So Jack took over for her.

"Those are scales, son." Danny's world came to a grinding halt. The only thing that he was capable of saying at the moment, was,

"What?"


	3. Chapter 3

Danny didn't know what to think.

_'what? what does he mean those are scales. And more importantly, WHY DO I HAVE SCALES?!'_

He was knocked out of his trance-like state by his mom calling his name.

"Danny? Are you ok?"

"Am I ok? Am I ok?! I have fucking scales on my arm! No I am not ok!"

Wincing at her son's expected outburst, Maddie wrapped her trembling son in her arms.

"It's ok, Danny. We'll figure this out, ok?" Upon feeling him nod into her shoulder, she pulled away and ruffled his hair. She only became more concerned, however, when he didn't protest the action.

"Danny-"

"Can I be left alone, please?"

Not wanting to upset him further, both parents left Danny alone in his room.

As soon as they were gone, Danny found that there were tears streaming down his face. Turning his teary-eyed gaze to his arms, he couldn't help but cry harder at the look of the scales that were already spreading.

If Danny was being perfectly honest, he's scared and confused. He doesn't know what these scales mean, and he doesn't even know why they are there. This only causes him to cry harder.

_LINE BREAK_

"Jack, I don't know what to do."

"We'll figure it out, we always do."

"But what does this even mean?"

Jack didn't have an answer. They were interrupted from their musings when Jazz came into the room.

"Mom? Dad? What's wrong?"

Looking uncertainly at each other, the Fenton parents come to the silent agreement not to hide anything from their kids.

_LINE BREAK_  
Danny was just wallowing in his own misery when his sister came bursting into the room.

"Let me see them."

Caught off guard, Danny didn't get a chance to fend her off before she's pulled his arm towards her for inspection. He caught the exact moment that the scales registered in her mind.

"Wha-"

Panicking slightly, he yanked his arm away and held it close to him.

"Danny..." The look on her face was a mix of incredulation and horror. Danny didn't have time to process what happened next. A look of utter fury overcame her features, and without another word, she marched out of the room. It wasn't long before he heard shouting.

_LINE BREAK_

"This is all your fault!"

"Now, Jazz-"

"Don't. Even. Start. If you two weren't so obsessed with some mythical creature, then this never would have happened"

"Jazz, we didn't-" Maddie didn't get to finish, however, because Jazz had stormed out of the room, quickly followed by her door slamming. Sighing dejectedly, Maddie collapsed onto the couch; Jack following suit.

"What have we done?"

_LINE BREAK_

It was several hours later, when Maddie opened the door to Danny's room intending on checking on him. She smiled to herself when she saw him curled up in his blankets, asleep and snoring softly. With all the stealth of a ninja, she made her way over to the bed. Curious, she gently takes her son's arm and pulls it out from underneath the blankets. She waits to see if he woke up from that, and after he didn't, she took a look. While the scales, being black, are hard to make out in the dim lighting, she can still see a big black patch covering most of his forearm. This alarms Maddie, as she was not expecting it to spread that quickly. Quietly, she puts Danny's arm back underneath the blankets, and makes her way out of the room. Not being one for inaction, she makes her way down to the lab to start her research.


	4. Chapter 4

When Danny woke up, it was to the bright rays of the rising sun filtering through the window. Cursing the sun, the young teen reluctantly pulled himself out of bed. Yawning, he made his way over to the bathroom. He was reaching for the door handle when he stopped dead in his tracks. It was if time had stopped for the teen, as he struggled to process what he was seeing.

What should be his hand, now looked like it belonged to a stranger, not to mention not even human. With black scales fading into skin near the middle, and black webbing holding his fingers together, he could only stare in horror at this new development. It was then that last night came flooding back to him. Scared of what he'd see, he looked down to his arm and nearly screamed. Despite the fact that he was wearing a t-shirt, the scales extended past what he was able to see. Rushing back to his room, he yanked his shirt off as soon as his door was closed. He tried not to think about how his finger mobility is now much more limited than what he was used to. Now standing in front of his mirror, his eyes widen with horror when he sees the black scales covering his entire arms and shoulders, and converging around his neck. Turning around, he's able to see that almost half of his back is also covered in the black scales. Not thinking better of it, he does the first thing that comes to mind.

"MOM!"

_LINE BREAK_

Maddie was sipping on a cup of coffee in the living room, thinking. Her research yielded very little results. Never before has there been a case like this, at least not what she was able to find. She's broken out of her thoughts, however, when she hears a startled yell from upstairs.

"MOM!"

Nearly dropping her cup, Maddie rushes to her son's aid. When she gets there, she stops in her tracks and her eyes widen to the size of saucers. Whereas the scales were easily hideable yesterday, they now covered half of her son's body. She's once again broken out of her thoughts when she hears her son's tearful voice.

"Mom..."

Without another thought, she rushes over to her baby boy and scoops him in her arms.

"Shhh. It's okay." Her heart breaks with how he trembles against her. It's several minutes later when Danny pulls away and looks down in shame.

"Sorry..."

"It's ok, Danny. There's nothing to be sorry about."

"Mom?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"What's happening to me?"

Sighing, Maddie gave the answer no mother wants to give their child. "We don't know yet."

Looking down in defeat, Danny lets loose a heartbreaking sigh. It was then he noticed how itchy his new scales were. He goes to scratch them, but his arm is stopped halfway there. Maddie, holding onto her son's arm, frowns when she notices the webbing. She continues on, however.

"Don't scratch it, sweetie."

"How did you-"

Smiling slightly, "It's to be expected. These types of scales are meant for the water. They can get really uncomfortable when dry and even sustain permanent damage."

"Oh."

Chuckling despite the situation, she starts leading Danny to the bathroom. "Come on, lets put some water on them. It'll feel better."

Nodding in acceptance, Danny allows himself to be lead by the arm to the bathroom. When passing by his sister's room, she's standing by the door with a worried frown. Danny, feeling embarrassed, ducks his head to hide his blush. He doesn't think it does much, however, because he can still hear Jazz's amused chuckle.


	5. Chapter 5

Danny sighed in contentment as he slid further into the luke-warm water. Honestly, it's a bit unnerving how good luke-warm water felt, but he wasn't in the mood to question it. He was broken out of his thoughts by an amused chuckle coming from beside him. Looking over, he had to fight an embarrassed blush that threatened to show itself when he realized his mom was sitting next to the tub, looking very amused.

"Feel good?" Despite he best efforts, she couldn't conceal all the amusement from her voice.

Danny just hummed in response as he slid deeper into the water, keeping only his nose above the surface. It wasn't long before his eyelids started to feel droopy, and he was fighting off sleep. Danny felt he should be concerned with how tired he was, but he was to drowsy to really care. Despite having just woken up, the warm water soothed him right back into a peaceful slumber.

_Line Break_

Maddie looked on somberly as her son fell asleep in the bath tub. Reaching forward, she ruffled his hair gently, only to notice something very strange. Thinking her eyes were deceiving her, she squints to try and make it out. But, no, nothing changes. The piece of snow white hair is still sitting there looking all innocent. She just stares at it for what must be a good minute. It wasn't until she heard her husband call her from downstairs, that she tore her gaze from the offending piece of hair and left the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

_Line Break_

This time, when Danny woke up, it was to complete silence. Normally, no matter where in the house he was, he could hear some kind of commotion. Be it from the lab or his sister's ramblings. Confused, he opened his eyes, only to recoil in shock. He was underwater. Suddenly very awake, he bolts upwards in surprise. It isn't until he's calmed down somewhat that he noticed something very strange. First off, his eyes didn't hurt. Normally, when he had his eyes underwater, even fresh water like in the tub, it stung at least somewhat. Secondly, he didn't even notice he was underwater until he opened his eyes. Meaning... What did that mean exactly? Looking back on it, he realised he was definitely breathing before. Underwater! But how though? It was then he noticed a strange feeling on his neck. It felt like air was passing through his skin. He didn't like it. Bring his now scaled and webbed hand up to investigate, he stops dead when he feels the little flaps of skin contracting in rhythm with the passing air. What the-

His eyes widen in surprise and horror when he realises what they are. Gills! He had freaking gills now! They must have appeared when he slid underwater while he was asleep. He didn't know what to do. Surely he didn't call for his mom again, it was way too soon for that. Just go on with his day like nothing happened? Not an option, they're sure to notice. Then what? Calmly tell her what happened? That seemed like his best bet at the moment. Climbing his way out of the tub, mentally cheering when he doesn't slip and face-plant, he makes his way over to the door. Only to pause halfway there. He just stood there, debating a very important question. Being, should he or shouldn't he dry off with a towel?

He didn't want to drip water all throughout the house, but at the same time, apparently he had to stay at least somewhat wet. Moving past that depressing thought, he decided he'd dry off enough so that his clothes at least weren't dripping water. Taking the towel that always seemed to be hanging on the door, he started rubbing himself dry, stopping after just a minutes so as not to agitate his scales any further. That thought still sent shivers down his spine. Scales? Really? He was about to make his way downstairs when the shouting started. Confused, and slightly worried, he quietly made his way to the stairs. Only to pause at the sight. His parents were yelling at some buff man in a white suit.

_LINE BREAK_

Maddie and Jack were just chilling in the living room when they heard loud banging from the front door. Confused, the Fenton parents looked at each other for a second before deciding they might as well see who it is. Cautiously, Maddie opened to door, only to be pushed aside by a big man in a pristine white suit.

"Where is it?"

Genuinely alarmed, and somewhat confused, Maddie shouts, "Who do you think you are barging up in here like that?!"

"Yeah! What my wife said!"

"We are the Mer Investigation Ward, or more commonly known around here as the GIW."

Upon hearing that, both the Fenton parents' faces drained of all color. The GIW were very well known in their field. Mainly for their cruelty to anyone or anything that got in their way.

Not letting her fear get the best of her, Maddie plowed ahead. "And what, pray tell, are you doing here?"

"We got an anonymous tip that there was a mer living here, if you must know."

If possible, their faces paled further. "And who gave you this tip?"

"Classified."

Finally, the other agent stepped forward. "Now, we're only going to ask you once. Where is it?"

"We have no idea what you're talking about."

Seeming deciding upon something, the first agent nodded his head to his coworker, before speaking into his earpiece. "Initiate protocol-"

He was stopped in his tracks however, by a crashing heard from above. Looking up, everyone is greeted to the sight of Danny flat on his face at the bottom of the stairs.

"Ow...Damn. I fell again." Finally looking up, he noticed the gruff men (and his parents) staring at him. Suddenly, without warning, one of the agents yelled into his mic,

"Protocol Alpha now!"

Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, several more agents stormed the house.

More concerned for the safety of her child than her own, Maddie shouted out, "DANNY! RUN!"

Not questioning it, Danny booked it back upstairs. Only to be intercepted halfway by more men. Turning around, he sees that he's been blocked in. Once again not questioning his instincts, he jumps over the railing, landing sloppily on the other side. From there, he books it down to the basement, it being the only place that isn't blocked off. Unfortunately, he realised his mistake only after he's been completely blocked in. Fear coursing through his veins, he can dimly hear his family shouting upstairs.

Now, one thing to note about the Fenton's basement, is that it is very unusual. For one, the far wall is made entirely out of glass that sits at least 2 stories up, as their house is on a hill, and overlooks the ocean.

"Give up. We have you surrounded."

What the agents didn't expect, however, was for Danny to take the office chair next to him and smash the window with it.

"After him!"

Not thinking better of it, he jumped.


	6. Chapter 6

Danny wasn't sure what came over him. He was always told that his stupidity would get him killed, he just didn't expect it to be so literal. But now, being thrown about in the current, he couldn't help but agree with them. Jumping off a ledge into high tide water from the top of a decently tall cliff was definitely the very definition of stupid. New water-breathing abilities be damned. But to be fair, it was either that or become, what he was sure, a lab rat for the government. Yeah, he'll take being thrown into rocks over that anytime, thanks.

It was an undetermined amount of time later, when Danny was finally able to steady himself against a rock on the ocean floor. With the current whipping his hair all over the place, he finally took a look at his surroundings. Not that there was much to look at. It was then that he got a very strange sensation. He didn't know how, but he could suddenly tell there was something fairly large coming towards him, and to hide. Once again not questioning it (which that in and of itself he was starting to question) he made his way over to the large rock wall, looking for a place to hide.

Finally spotting a crevice in between the rocks, he crammed his small body into said crevice and held his breath. He nearly had a heart attack when two beams of light came shining through the water. Shrinking into himself, he was horrified to see that it was a white submarine. He didn't doubt for a second that they were looking for him. Putting his hands over his mouth to help prevent noise, all the while forgetting that he was underwater and likely wouldn't have mattered like it would have had he been on land. Finally, after what felt like hours, they finally left. Probably assuming he was dead, Danny decided. He couldn't complain about that. He only worried about his family. How would they react when told that he was likely dead? He didn't want to think about it. So, he didn't.

Slowly and cautiously making his way out of his hidey-hole, he takes a minute to himself to just breath. Only to immediately try and think of another calming mechanism that didn't bring attention to the weird sensation of breathing with GILLS. It was only then that Danny felt something flicking on the side of his head in tandem with the current. Bringing his hand up to investigate, he recoiled in shock when he felt what had to be fins instead of ears. He couldn't help but think that he hadn't even noticed this transformation. But to be fair, he was kind of in mortal peril, so he supposed he could let that one slide. He suddenly became very aware of all the new information somehow flooding to his brain.

'High tide. Noon. Fish to left."

He couldn't help but release a little bit of a whimper at that. Reluctantly, he removed his hand from his ear-head-fin-thing. He was still working out kinks with the name.

It was then that his situation hit him full-force. In shock, he allowed his body to sink to the floor. Landing on his knees, he felt that he was going into shock, but he didn't care at the moment. He was more worried about what he was going to do now. He couldn't very well go home, not with what just happened. But what options did that leave him? Survive alone in the ocean? As if. He's weak Danny Fenton. He doesn't stand a chance all alone. Maybe, he thought, he could find another mer and they'll take pity on him by either killing him quickly and painlessly or helping him survive. Either one sounded fine at the moment.

Deciding that he couldn't stay there for fear of the 'agents' coming back, he slowly sat up. Steeling himself, he started to clumsily swim away from the shore, making sure to keep extra attention on these new senses his head-fins seemed to be giving him. Feeling nothing to be concerned about, he started to swim more confidently, finally taking in the scenery.

'Sand, rocks, sand, more sand, and more rocks. Lovely.'

Moving forward, he forced himself not to look back behind him at the life he left behind.

_LINE BREAK_

Danny wasn't sure how long he's been trekking through the water, all he knew that it was now evening.

'Low tide. Evening. Fish in front.'

He nearly growled in annoyance. This new sense (or whatever it was) was getting old real fast. He can see the fish five feet in front of him, thank you very much. However, that brought about another problem.

'What am I going to do about food?'

Just the thought of what he might have to eat made him nauseous. Deciding he couldn't travel any further, he let himself slowly sink to the floor. Panting for breath (man that still feels weird), he looked towards the surface. He almost wished he didn't. He was so far underwater that he couldn't hardly see it. That brought a whole new wave of desperation to him.

Letting out a silent sigh of despair, he laid on his back and looked longingly towards what he knew was the surface, even if he couldn't see it. He never thought that he would miss the feel of oxygen going down his throat. He wasn't laid there much longer before he fell asleep. Looking back on it though, falling asleep in such an open area probably wasn't the best idea. Oh, well. He was always told his stupidity would get him killed. Might as well live up to that.

_LINE BREAK_

Samantha (Sam if you valued your life) was not having a good day. Not only had her parents tried to force her to wear a fancy (Pink!) dress, they tried to get her to go to a gala in said dress. So, currently, like any responsible 14 year old, she escaped her problems by swimming as far away as fast as she could. She was currently sneaking between bits of reef to as not to be seen, when her goal came into sight; a sunken yacht. Picking up her pace, she quickly made her way over. Looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking (not that there'd be much she could do if there was), she swam into the ship. There, sitting on one of the seats, was a dark-skinned mer with completely green scales and fins to match his green eyes. Sam, herself, sported royal purple scales with black-tinted fins.

"Hey, Tucker!"

"Sam! What are you doing here?"

Swimming to sit down next to her best (only) friend, she scowled, "My parents."

Despite the lack of detail, Tucker nodded his head in understanding.

Although, Tucker did become quite curious when Sam let out a long and suffering sigh.

"Sam?"

"Do you ever feel this kind of life gets boring?"

"What?"

"I mean this!" She moved to in front of him to further express her point. "My parents annoy me, I sneak out here to meet with you, rinse repeat. Doesn't that ever get boring?"

Shrugging his shoulders, "Yeah, but what are you going to do about it?" Tucker suddenly regretted asking when Sam's eyes lit up with mischief.

"We should go on an adventure!"

"W-what? No. No way."

_LINE BREAK_

"How did I let you talk me into this?"

"Because you love me."

Groaning loudly, Tucker took a look back onto his situation. It was several days after Sam's initial suggestion to go on an 'adventure' as she called it. They had packed food, along with other necessities. Tucker was still not sure how he was talked into this. He was brought out of his musings when he nearly collided with the back of Sam.

"Sam? What-"

He, too trailed off when he finally registered what was in front of them. Sitting on the ground, looking at them with wide, frightened blue-green eyes was the strangest creature either mer had ever seen. While it was definitely some form of mer (the black scales were proof enough of that), they had never seen anything like it. Where the tail should be, were a pair of two separate...things. They were unsure what they were, but they knew they were not supposed to be there.

They stayed like that for a minute before the creature in front of them screamed and assumed a fetal position.

"Please don't hurt me!"

Danny could only hope his death would be quick and painless.


	7. Chapter 7

Silence followed Danny's plea. While the two full-mers were still trying to process what they were seeing, Danny was paralyzed with fear. He didn't expect to run across any mers, especially so soon. Surely they thought he was an abomination, I mean, what was he at this point? Not even he knew.

"What are you?" Yep, there it is. Danny looked up from his fetal position for just long enough to see the female mer slap the male on the head. "What?! It was just a question!" Another slap.

While the dark-skinned mer sat cradling his now sore head, the female placed down her bag made out of old fishing line that was previously slung over her back. Sitting on the sand that is the ocean floor, she held out her hand.

"Hi! My name's Sam. What's yours?"

Danny was stunned speechless. This was not at all what he expected. In a sort of daze, he extended his hand towards hers. Hesitating for just a moment, he gently accepted the handshake.

"My name's Danny."

Danny was worried her smile would split her face in half.

"It's nice to meet you, Danny!" After releasing the handshake, Sam continued, "This inconsiderate idiot is Tucker."

When 'Tucker' went to say something, Sam cut him off with a glare. "Say it and it'll be the last thing you ever do." Danny could swear he heard a whimper. Then, she turned her attention back to the strange boy in front of her. "Are you ok? Do you need help?"

That seemed to be the final push that broke the dam. Without even realising what was happening, he had broke down into tears; the day's earlier events finally catching up with him. Sam and Tucker just looked at eachother, as if to ask, 'what do we do?'

Awkwardly, Sam ploughed forward. Reaching forward, she put her hand on his back and paused when she felt him stiffen under her touch. For only a second though, before he relaxed again. Taking that as permission, she very gently and awkwardly wrapped her other arm around him and brought him close.

Danny was stunned speechless. This mer that he had just met was hugging him. But he wasn't even going to attempt to lie to himself. He really needed that hug; that little bit of comfort. Without thinking better of it, he wrapped his arms around her and clung for dear life; embarrassment aside.

Sam and Tucker didn't know what to do. Here was this strange boy, who had obviously had something at least a little bit traumatic happen, clinging to Sam while crying his eyes out. Very awkwardly, Sam started rubbing her hand up and down his back; she couldn't help but notice the lack of fins which only served to further confuse her. It was several minutes later when he finally seemed to calm down and pulled away.

"You good now?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. Rough day." Wiping at his eyes, he couldn't help but look away in shame. Rough day was an understatement.

Tucker chimed in, "Hey, dude we all have days like that. I know I do."

"But you don't go crying to a stranger."

Tucker didn't have anything for that, because he was right. Thankfully Sam took over. "That's alright. I don't mind. Just glad I could be there to help."

From there, they descended into a weird silence that was both comfortable and awkward at the same time.

"So...Where ya headed, dude?"

"I don't-I don't know."

The two full-mers looked at eachother and seemingly came to a decision.

"Wanna come with us?"

Danny's head snapped up in surprise. "What?"

Tucker agreed, "Yeah, we don't have a set destination in mind either. Might as well travel together, right?"

"I would love to, but..."

"But?" Sam cocked a single eyebrow, preparing for the excuse she was sure he was about to try and pass.

"I'm not a very strong or fast swimmer. I don't want to slow you down."

That, was a valid point. Taking another inspection of him, they indeed noticed his lack of fins and tail and realised that would definitely slow one down. But Sam was not one easily deterred.

"We told you. We have no set destination, which means no set time-line either. Going a bit slower doesn't really bother us. Right, Tucker?" She elbowed him to make her point known.

"Ow! I mean, yeah. We don't mind. What do ya say?" Holding his hand out, the two mers waited with baited breath as the boy seemed to consider their offer.

After seemingly coming to a decision, he tentatively took the extended hand and hoisted himself onto his feet, the action much easier underwater than he was used to. Danny couldn't keep all the amusement off of his face at the looks of awe and wonder this simple action caused.

"Well? We goin'?"

"You know it."

And like that, the trio set off in a random direction, hoping to find some adventure.

_Line Break_

Meanwhile, back at the Fenton house, the remaining family members were gathered in the living room. It had been a whole day since the GIW had invaded their home and chased off their only son. When they came back up the stairs of the basement, the family was horrified to find out that Danny had jumped. When even more agents came in and started whispering, Maddie was able to hear just enough to discern that they (thankfully) were unable to find her son. However, that brought a whole new problem. There was no way Danny, being as scrawny as he was, could survive out in the ocean all alone. That was what was on her mind as she spoke.

"We need to find Danny."

"I know we do, Mads. But even leaving the house is risky. The GIW have been watching us like a hawk." It's true. While unable to actually do anything to the family, they are able to monitor everything they do to make sure Danny couldn't even get within a mile of the house without them knowing, additionally, knowing if the family decided to go out and look for their son.

Meanwhile, while her parents were discussing what to do over the matter, Jazz was looking out the window longingly.

"Oh, little brother. Please be ok."

_Line Break_

"Are you ok?" Looking back, Sam couldn't help but worry at the absolute fatigue show on their new friends' face. He wasn't kidding when he said he wasn't a strong swimmer. It made her wonder how he had survived this long.

"Honestly? No. I don't think I can go any farther." With that, he let himself sink to the floor.

Sam and Tucker looked at eachother, then followed their friend to the ground. They had only been travelling for half a day. While they were used to that kind of travel, Danny obviously wasn't.

"We can take a break if you'd like."

"Thanks. And sorry."

"Don't worry about it. You can't help it."

She was about to say more, when she heard his stomach rumble. Quirking an eyebrow at him, she asked,

"You hungry?"

Looking away, he answered with, "Yeah. Haven't had anything since I...left."

That was another thing. He refused to share where he had come from or what happened.

Tucker spoke up, "If you want we could go get you some fish."

"No!" Both looked slightly startled by his outburst, so he calmed himself and tried again. "I'm sorry, but where I come from, even eating fish like you do is...considered very disgusting and unhealthy."

Now their eyebrows were nearly raised to their hairline. Tucker finally asked, "What did you eat then?"

"Nothing you've heard of." He sighed. "And definitely nothing that's available here."

"Would you like some seaweed instead?"

His head snapped up at that. "What?"

"Yeah, I don't eat meat as I think its cruel. Instead I eat seaweed. I actually brought some with me. Would you like some?"

"S-sure. I guess I could try it."

Digging into her bag, Sam brought out a good handful of dark green seaweed, and held it out for him.

Taking it into his hands, Danny was surprised by the texture. It felt a lot like grass would on the surface, should he have actually been there.

Tentatively sticking it into his mouth, he was surprised by the taste, too. It tasted like grass as well. Don't ask how he knows what grass tastes like. While it was by no means good, it was still better than the alternative, which was eating undoubtedly raw fish.

As Danny tentatively chewed on the seaweed, Sam asked the question he had been dreading.

"Danny, where exactly do you come from?" He was about to respond when she interrupted him. "And no excuses. We want the truth." Seeing the hurt expression on his face, she corrected herself. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that we can tell you're a long way home." That got a snort out of him. "We want to help, but we need to know these kind of things."

Danny wanted to tell them, he really did. But he didn't know how they'd react. Did they even know of humans? Oh, well. Guess there's only one way to find out.

"Do you know of humans?"

"Yeah..." Tucker's expression was visible confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"What, exactly, do you know of them?"

This time, Sam took over. "They're the ones throwing polluting the ocean with their weird inventions." This was said with audible disgust.

Gulping nervously, he continued onward. "What if I told you I used to be human?"

That got a reaction; mainly of surprise. Until Sam's face morphed to one of confusion. "Used to be?"

Snorting, he answered, "Do you really think humans have fins, webbing and scales when there is zero use for them?"

That seemed to stun them into silence.

"Holy-"

"-Shit"

_LINE BREAK_

Silence followed Danny's story. He had just finished telling his new friends what happened, and he hoped against hope that they didn't throw him out. He was very shocked, however, when Sam suddenly broke out into tears.

"What-"

"You poor thing. To be chased out of your home like that..."

Danny wasn't sure how he felt about being pitied. Looking over at Tucker, Danny couldn't tell what he was thinking. Tucker nearly gave him a heart attack when he suddenly shouted,

"Dude! That's so cool!"

That threw Danny for a loop. "W-what?"

He was so shell shocked he nearly didn't notice Tucker being whacked upside the head.

"Insensitive!"

Danny asked what was, to him, a very important question. "So...what now?"

"What do you mean? We continue with our original plan; travel until we can't travel no more."

"You mean...you still want me to travel with you?"

Shrugging, Sam answered, "I mean, yeah. This doesn't change anything. It just means that now we know where your weirdness comes from."

"Hey!" Despite the small jab, Danny found himself smiling wide.

Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be as bad as he had originally thought.


	8. Chapter 8

So far, things were going a lot better than Danny had expected them to. He had made supportive friends and he had a (somewhat vague) goal in mind; 'travel until they can't travel no more'. Danny could get behind that.

Currently, he was lagging behind while Sam and Tucker swam up front. They had just stopped for a break and were on the move again. Despite all of their assurances, Danny still felt guilty about slowing them down the way he was. He would occasionally catch them moving further in front of him only to stop and look back and slow their pace. Eventually, Danny didn't know when, but they started swimming directly next to him on either side. In spite of himself, he smiled at their small show of support. All that came crashing down, however, when he felt a burning pain in his back. Surprised, he screamed out, catching the attention of his friends as they worked to steady him.

"Danny?! What's wrong?!"

As it stood, he could hardly breathe. But he had to answer her, because maybe they could help him. And if they couldn't, at least they could maybe get some answers.

"M-my back." Tears sprung to his eyes. "It hurts. So much." With that final declaration, he felt his knees finally hit the sandy floor.

Worried, Sam and Tucker laid their newest friend on his stomach and looked him over. They couldn't see anything, but it was hard to tell with the weird contraption he kept wrapped around his body. Seeing Danny was hardly lucent at the moment, Tucker went ahead and used his hands and tore the fabric in two. When they finally saw the black-scaled back underneath, they immediately saw the problem. It would be hard not to. It would appear he was starting to grow a dorsal fin. It looked as though it just sprouted out of his back. No wonder it hurt so much. They were broken out of their observations when they heard a quiet whimper escape their small friend. Sam immediately tried to find ways to bring at least some semblance of comfort for her friend. Thinking back to when her dorsal fin first grew in as a guppy, she gently put two of her fingers on either side of the base and started rubbing them in circles while gently applying pressure. Danny immediately relaxed.

Tentatively, Tucker asked, "That feel good?"

"Mmhm." Was his response. It wasn't long before Danny had passed out. Whether from pain or exhaustion, they weren't quite sure. They hoped it was the latter. They also noticed, alarmingly, that he had also appeared to be sprouting fins along his forearms. Looking at each other, they both agreed that they were very glad Danny had passed out.

_LINE BREAK_

When Danny woke up, it was to the strange feeling that something was wrong. He wasn't sure what, just something was 'off'. Strange. Groaning as his eyelids fluttered open, he was greeted to the site of the sandy ground. It was then Danny realised he must be laying on his stomach. Slowly sitting up, he rubbed the grit from his eyes. When his eyes finally focused, he saw Sam sitting a respectable distance away, looking on worriedly. Tucker was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Danny. You feeling ok?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"That's good."

"Sam. Be honest. What happened?"

"...Well..."

_LINE BREAK_

Currently, Tucker was out hunting for something to eat. Just because his friends didn't eat meat, didn't mean he had to follow their decision. When he finally made his way back to where they were staying, catch in tow, he paused at the strange sight of Danny playing with the new fins on his arms. Smiling slightly in amusement, he made his was back down to the ground. Sitting down to rest, he addressed Danny.

"Hey, dude. You doing ok?"

Looking up from his arm, he gave a (only slightly) shaky smile. "Yep. Doing just fine."

Seemingly satisfied, Tucker dug into his fish. He paused though, when he saw Danny look away in disgust. Danny, almost as if he could sense his question, responded with,

"Sorry. It's just...back on the surface that would be very disgusting."

Shrugging to himself and deciding not to question it, Tucker continued eating, savoring the taste of the fresh fish. He also couldn't help but notice Sam looked equally disgusted. That only made him smile cheekily in response.

_LINE BREAK_

It wasn't long before they were on the move again. Looking over at his friend, Tucker finally got a good look at his new fins. Before they were pressed close to his body as they weren't in use. But now, they were being used to slice through the water. Tucker would admit (only to himself of course) he was kind of jealous. With coloring like that, he could no doubt actually attract some ladies. While the actual fins were black as night, the webbing was a luminescent white. This brought the two mers to believe that he would be luminescent had he had a tail. The lucky bastard. It's guaranteed popularity if one is luminescent. Danny, himself hasn't seemed to notice yet though.

Sam broke him out of his thoughts. "Hey, Danny?"

"Hm?"

"Have you ever thought about how far this 'transformation' is going to go?"

"What do you mean?"

Swimming in front of Danny while continuing to swim backwards so she could face him, she continued, "Like, is it going to stop here, or are you going to go so far as to grow a tail?"

That was something Dany had never thought about before. "I don't-I don't know."

It was then that Tucker noticed something he didn't before. "Hey, wait. Weren't your eyes more blue before?"

"Huh?" Danny was caught off-guard by the sudden subject change.

"Hey, you're right!"

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Dude, your eyes are literally glowing bright green?"

"What?!"

"Yeah, they were blue-green last time we checked."

"..."

"Danny?"

"You ok?"

"Guys...my eyes are supposed to be blue. Light blue."

Shocked silence.

"What does this mean?"

"I don't-I don't know."

Setting her mouth into a firm line, Sam decided, "Let's not worry about it for now. For now, let's just keep on going."

"Ok."

"Yeah, sure."

And so they continued on.

It was several hours later when something finally happened. All three of them paused in their swimming as they felt something coming closer. While Sam and Tucker were confused, Danny took on a look of absolute horror.

"Guys! We have to hide! Now!" He whisper-shouted.

"Danny, what-?"

"We don't have time!" At this point, he was pointlessly pulling on his friends' arms trying to get them to move.

Sharing an uneasy look with each other, Sam and Tucker decided to humor him and allowed themselves to be tugged along. Once they were finally partially hidden behind a rock, they finally caught sight of what was causing the strange vibrations. Sam and Tucker immediately paled as they recognised it to be human tech.

"Shit." Danny curses under his breath. Sam and Tucker couldn't agree with that sentiment more.

"Danny, what is that thing?"

"Its a sub." Seeing the confused expression on his friends' faces, he elaborates, "Its short for submarine. It allows humans to travel underwater."

"So, you're saying..." Tucker started uneasily, looking paler by the second. "That there are actually humans in that thing?"

"Yep. And if I had to guess by the white coloring, they're probably looking for me."

Well this was just fantastic. The chances of actually running into one of these things with how far he had traveled in the day or so he'd been out in the ocean was so astronomically low, it was mind-shattering. Now, though, Danny is seriously regretting ALL of his life decisions.


	9. Chapter 9

It has been 3 days since Danny's 'disappearance' as the media was calling it. Life in the Fenton house has a certain depressing air to it. It became even more depressing when the GIW cam in and practically demanded that they help them find and capture their son. The Fenton parents, of course, refused. Or, at least, they tried to. The agents threatened to ruin their daughter's life by using their government backing. They only choice they had was to 'help' and hope to God that they are unable to find anything remotely close to their son.

There was a sort of tense silence in the pristine white sub. They had dragged the Fenton parents into two separate subs. Currently, Maddie was sitting near the back, looking out the window. They decided to bring her along in case they needed her expertise. So far, though, the trip has been uneventful, thank goodness.

When the sub suddenly stopped and dropped its anchor, she looked to the agents confused.

"We're getting out here to search for readings. ."

"Yes?"

"You'll be getting out, too."

"What? Why?"

"If you're going to be apart of this team, you're going to pull your weight."

Not that she wants to be a part of the team, but, whatever...

Just as she was about to pull on the suit provided to her, she was stopped by the man's gruff voice.

"If we find out you withheld information from us, there will be harsh punishments. Are we clear?"

"Yes."

She could only hope and pray that she didn't find anything. Because punishments be damned, she was not about to out her child.

Meanwhile...

"What do we do?" Tucker whisper-shouted.

"I don't know!" Danny hissed back.

"Just stay hidden!"

They stayed as still and silent as possible just hoping for the intruders to leave. Their hopes were squashed, however, when the sub stopped and dropped and anchor which hit the floor with a soft 'thud' bringing up sand with its impact, and a hatch opened in the back and 3 guys in white scuba gear came swimming out, followed by a much smaller diver.

"Shit.

"Yeah."

Focused on escaping, the mers fail to notice when the smallest diver comes up behind them. Tucker is the first one to notice. When he goes oddly silent, Sam and Danny slowly and fearfully look to where the dark-skinned mer was staring. Danny's eyes widen when he meets the wide purple irises of his mother.

Time seems to stand still as they just stare at each other. He doesn't even notice when Sam and Tucker take up defensive positions. Maddie seems to notice, however, as she puts her hands up in a placating manner.

"Mom...?"

Even though Maddie can't hear him, she can see his lips move and just about burst into tears at the joy of seeing her son. Then comes the dread when she remembers why she's even here in the first place. Danny must have seen the look of horror she expressed, if the confused look he sent her was any indication.

Meanwhile, Sam and Tucker are looking at this strange woman in a new light. According to what little they had gathered, this human was Danny's mother. But that brought up the question of why she was with the enemy. Sam decided to express as much by glaring as hard as she could and crossing her arms.

Maddie was brought out of her trance by a crackling over the built-in radio in her helmet.

" Have you found anything?"

Replying, she lied, "Nothing of interest."

"We're moving locations. Head back to the sub."

Turning to leave, she sent one last look back to the 3 mers sitting next to her. Faster than anyone could react, she darted forward and brought Danny in for a hug, being careful of his dorsal fin. Pulling away, she noticed his now-green eyes filled with unshed tears. Wiping them away, she gives a quick kiss on his head, mouthing the words 'I love you'. He does the same.

With that, she turned and made her way back to the sub, not even sparing a glace to where she knew her son was hiding. She's just glad he found some friends.

_Line Break_

"What just happened?"

"Danny?"

looking over he saw the concerned faces of his friends.

"I'm ok. Just...I really miss her."

Putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, she said, "I know, but I'm sure you'll be able to see her again, one day."

"You think so?"

Both of their hearts just about broke with the careful hopefulness creeping into his voice.

Tucker piped up, "Yeah, I think you will."

Without warning, the two mers found themselves in the arms of a very appreciative half-formed mer.

Without hesitation, the two teens hugged their friend back.


	10. Chapter 10

It's been several hours now since the encounter, and things have been quiet between the trio. Danny was lost in his own thoughts, and Sam and Tucker didn't want to disturb him. They only spoke when they noticed their friend showing obvious signs of fatigue. Following Tucker's suggestion to sit and rest, the trio found themselves laying on the sandy floor, asleep. All except for Danny. He was left lying down and looking towards the distant surface. It wasn't long before, he too fell asleep. His dreams were filled by happy days with his family.

_LINE BREAK_

When Danny woke up, it was to the hushed whispers of his friends. Quiet enough not to wake him, but not too quiet where he couldn't hear. After deciding that they weren't talking about anything too important, mainly just their old home life that he knew next to nothing about, he opened his eyes and slowly sat up. He was more than surprised to see, instead of the black hair he had grown so used to seeing, white floated in his vision. Grabbing a hold of it, he confirmed, that yes, he now had white hair. Great. Fantastic.

He went to stand up as well, but fell flat on his butt. Confused, he looked down and his eyes widened in pure shock. What were supposed to be his feet, looked more like someone had hot glued black flippers onto his ankles. His one thought "How the hell did I sleep through that?"

"Guys...?" At his call, the other two mers finally noticed their friend was awake. They began to make their way over to him when their brains comprehended what they were seeing.

"Oh damn-OW!" Rubbing his now sore arm, Tucker glared over to Sam only to shrink back upon seeing her glare. She was much better at glaring than he was.

Making her way over to her friend, she sat down on the sand next to him. A moment of silence ensued before she broke it.

"Can you keep going?"

"Yeah...I might need help getting up though." He tried to smile, but by the look on his friends' faces it came out more like a grimace. Nodding to herself, she lifted herself into the open water and grabbed Danny under one arm.

"Tucker, come help me." Before he knew it, Danny was being lifted by his two friends. When he was actually standing on his 'feet', supported by his friends, he found the reason he fell. While they looked like flippers, they had the structure of the fins they were. I.E., no structure at all. He was essentially standing on little stubs with flaps of skin and scales attached to the end. That comparison just about made him sick. He was broken out of his thoughts when the two mers holding him started to rise into the open water. Taking initiative, he started slowly kicking his legs, surprised by the amount of resistance. Apparently these 'feet fins' were good for something. Before he knew it, he was hovering all on his own. Turning to his friends and giving them the best reassuring smile he could muster,

"Let's go."

_LINE BREAK_

It was several hours later when they decided to take a break for lunch. Letting himself just sink to the bottom and softly land on his butt, Danny joined Sam in eating seaweed. Again, it tasted like grass, but it was better than eating raw fish. While Tucker was out looking for food for himself, Danny and Sam sat in companionable silence. When Tucker came back, the silence continued, there not being much to talk about. They were content to just sit and feel comfort in each other's presence. The silence was broken, however, by a sharp cry from Danny. The two worried mers looked over to see their friend holding his leg tenderly while obviously in pain.

"Danny? What's wrong?'

"I don't-I don't know. It just started-" He was cut off by another cry of pain as it sent another spasm up his legs. Swimming over, Sam started looking over her friend, not able to find anything wrong, though she quickly figured it was probably due to the weird material covering his legs.

"Danny, I need you to take these off."

"What?! But I-"

"Am in pain and we can't find out why with it on. So take it off."

Not even bothering to try and argue, he began the process of removing his pants. Once his scaled legs were free of the constricting pants, the problem still didn't make itself clear.

"Wait. Guys-" Looking over to their friend they saw he was consumed in panic.

"Danny?"

"What's wrong?"

"I can't-I can't move my legs. At all." That was definitely concerning. Hovering her hands over his legs, looking to her friend for permission who gave a curt nod in response, she gently placed her hands on his leg, only to pull back as if burnt by the cry of pain that erupted from her friend.

"Danny?! Oh my god! Are you ok?"

"I don't-I don't know." He was panting heavily at this point.

It was then that a thought occurred to Tucker. "Hey, Danny?"

"Y-yeah?"

"You're still wearing something."

With his face turning red, he responded, "I'm not taking off my underwear!"

"Danny!" Two cries erupted at once, causing the teen to wince.

"Ok, ok, fine."

With his face still red as a tomato, he began to slide his underwear down before he came across a problem.

"Hey guys? Can you help me? I can't move my legs, so..."

Nodding in response, the two mers got to work, Tucker sliding down the garment, while Sam lifted his legs as gently as possible. What the two mers didn't realise was the growing horror Danny was experiencing. Looking down, he noticed he was missing certain...man parts. The reason for this, being that his legs have already started to fuse. Sam and Tucker, being unfamiliar with the human body, didn't realise this. Without even realising it, he let lose a pathetic whimper that brought Sam and Tucker's attention back to their friend.

"Dude, you ok?"

"What's wrong?"

"Guys, its not-" Taking a deep breath, "It's not supposed to look like that."

Letting lose another cry as a sharp pain shot through his legs. His friends watched as his legs merged further together.

"Oh..." Nodding to each other, Sam sat by Danny's head, while Tucker took a seat by his 'feet'. Rolling him onto his side, she sat his head on her lap as she gently rubbed her fingers through his white locks in a vain attempt to keep him calm, while Tucker tucker his legs and put them close together as to make the change easier.

"Sam...? What...?" Looking up to his friend, Danny noticed her smile was a little strained.

"It'll be ok. We don't know how long it'll last, but we're here for you the whole way." When she saw him start to look towards his 'feet', she lifted his face back up. "Don't look. It's better that way."

The water was completely silent save for the occasional pained whimper and creaking of bone as his body worked to accommodate it's new appendage.


	11. Chapter 11

The ocean was silent, save for the occasional whimper. Sam and Tucker were busy assuring and comforting their friend with varying levels of success. Danny was currently laying on his side, with his head in Sam's lap, and Tucker holding what was left of his legs together for easier fusing. He was also in an almost agonizing amount of pain. It hurt so bad! He just wanted the pain to stop! He could feel each shift of bone. Each mending of flesh, each new scale grown. He could feel when fins grew from his hips, when his 'feet' finally merged together and a stark white flipper took their place. Each stage more painful than the last. Danny knew the moment it was over as the pain receded almost immediately, and he was left laying there, panting for breath through his gills.

While Tucker started checking out his newly acquired black and white tail to check for deformities, Sam stayed by Danny's side the entire time. Danny, meanwhile, was not having a good time. While the pain was over, he was still incredibly uncomfortable. With the way he was laying, he was laying on top of one of his fins and it was uncomfortable. Not to mention the fact that his new tail was extremely sensitive. Despite the fact that Tucker was being extremely careful in his examination, Danny still felt all of his touches with a disturbing amount of clarity. It got even worse when he moved to check the fin protruding from the end; that being even more sensitive. He couldn't help releasing a shudder at his friend's touch.

"You ok, Danny? I'm not hurting you, am I?" It would appear that his dream of his shudder going unnoticed is nothing but a fantasy.

"No, it's just...more sensitive than I'm used to."

"Right. That makes since. Don't worry, I'm almost done."

That did little to comfort the teen. Because while Tucker's examination may be close to done, this whole...situation is far from it.

"Ok, I can't see anything out of the ordinary that's visible. Now we're going to check for any kind of internal deformities. Now, Danny, I want you to move your tail up and down as best you can, alright?"

Nodding to himself, Danny did as told. It felt incredibly weird and heavy, but he managed to lift his new tail up about half a foot before he plopped it back down.

"Good, good."

And like that it went. Tucker had Danny move each one of his fins individually just to make sure he could. After that was done, they decided to let him rest, both of his friends sitting on either side of him.

Danny had yet to even catch a glimpse of his new tail. But according to Sam and Tucker its "Really beautiful, Danny" and, "You'll be able to catch some babes with a tail like that."

Apparently, his fins glowed a faint white light, just like, he noticed earlier, the rest of him. Bioluminescence was both really cool, and really annoying, as he was almost always visible, no matter what he did. He's sure that's going to bite him in the as-tail later.

It wasn't long before both Sam and Tucker were asleep, with Danny laying wide awake between the two of them. Gathering up his courage, and deciding he has had enough imagining all of the different possibilities, Danny sat up and for the first time, laid his eyes upon his tail. And he has to say, he's almost disappointed. It doesn't have the intricate design that Sam's does, or the plain look that Tucker's does. Instead, it's a pitch black color, with the aforementioned stark white and glowing fins. There were little spots across his tail that reminded him of stars. Reaching a (only slightly) shaking hand down, he felt along the scales and shuddered at the sensation.

He was broken out of his thoughts by a very real and urgent question. How the hell was he supposed to use the bathroom?

_LINE BREAK_

AT THE FENTON HOUSE

"I'm telling you, I saw him!"

"I believe you honey, I do. I just don't know what you expect us to do."

"I don't-" Maddie sunk down further into the seat she was sitting in, seemingly almost sagging with resignation. "I'm his mother. I can't just leave him down there."

Jack wrapped his giant arms around his petite wife in a show of comfort. "I know, Mads but the best thing we can do for him is pretend we never saw him. Besides, let's say we did manage to get the GIW off of his back, then what? We can't keep him above land anymore, you know that. He couldn't stay with us."

"I know, I just-" Sigh. "I just wish I could do something to help him."

"We'll figure something out. We always do."

"I hope you're right."

Meanwhile, Jazz was sitting in the next room over, praying for the safety of her brother.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This is a short chapter, mainly because when I wrote this, I came across the best and most ominous ending I have ever written and I couldn't very well ruin it by continuing. I am being completely honest here. I'll try to make the next one extra long, but I make no promises.

"How you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess." Shrug. "Could be feeling better."

"Understandable." Despite her obvious attempt at subtlety, Danny could still see Sam glancing over to his new tail on occasion.

"Is something wrong?"

"Huh? What? What are you talking about?"

He just gave her a deadpan stare as the answer. With a sigh, she relented.

"Alright. It's just...it really is beautiful, Danny."

"Thanks..."

The scene that Tucker returned to from his hunt is a strange one, that's for sure. Both of his friends are sitting on the ground and blushing while looking away from each other. Oh, he is taking advantage of this.

"You love birds ready to eat?"

Two simultaneous cries of "We're not lovebirds!" rang out.

Smirking to himself for his success, he sat down next to his friends.

"Dinner served! One handful of tasteless grass each."

Sam begrudgingly took the seaweed from Tucker's outstretched hand. "Jerk."

Tucker merely smiled in response. His smile was turned into a concerned frown, however, when he noticed that Danny has made no move for the offered food.

"Dude? You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just not hungry."

Sam took charge. "Danny, we all know that's not true. What's really up?"

Danny stayed quiet as he silently watched his limp tail's fluke flutter in the weak current. He sadly sighed and hung his head. "I cant-" Deep breath. "I officially can't go home any more and...I don't-I don't know what to do." Tears were leaking out of his eyes without his consent. Scooting closer to her friend, Sam wrapped one arm around his shoulders and brought him close.

"Hey. We'll figure something out, ok?" She felt a weak nod in response. Leaning over like that was beginning to become uncomfortable, so Danny moved his tail to a more comfortable position, wincing as the new sensation of sand rubbing against his fluke. When he felt a hand land on his shoulder, he looked up to the smiling face of tucker.

"Yeah, man! We'll get you all sorted out."

Taking a shaky breath, he replied with a quiet, "Thank you."

_LINE BREAK_

Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the ocean, an ominous castle lay. And in the throne room, sat a blue skinned mer with piercing red eyes and sharp teeth, with a blood red tail, black fins and black hair positioned into horns. The mysterious mer was leaning onto his fist while sitting in his throne. He smiled a wicked smile.

"Soon, little badger, soon."


	13. Chapter 13

Once again, Danny was questioning all of his life decisions that could have lead up to this point. he supposed any of them could have, really.

"That's it, you're doing great." Danny rolled his eyes at that, because really, he was not. At least not in his book. Despite practicing for what he was sure was well over an hour, he was still unable to so much as hold himself upright in the water, let alone swim. Currently, he was being pulled along by the hands by Sam, and watching Tucker's movements as he exaggeratedly swam beside him. Despite his friends' efforts, however, he was making very little progress. It wasn't long before they decided to take a collective break. Sitting down on the soft sand and eating breakfast/lunch/dinner, Danny just watched as his friends bickered over eating habits. It wasn't long before Sam decided they had long enough of a break. Now Danny is facing a bit of a problem. Sam and Tucker refuse to pull him up saying 'he needs to learn'. Which, fair. But that leaves him awkwardly trying to pull himself up into the water while Sam and Tucker watched. While Danny could tell they were trying, they were obviously struggling not to laugh at his floundering around.

Eventually though, he guessed Sam took pity on him and swam over to help. Holding onto his arms, she guided him up without doing it for him; he still had to work for it. Eventually though, once he was semi-stable in the water, they once again began their teaching session just like they left off. They continued like that for several hours.

_LINE BREAK_

"Well? Have you found him yet?" Echoed a cruel and confident voice.

"No, sir. He seems to be moving fairly quickly."

"How is that possible? He shouldn't be able to move anywhere right now with the curse finally taking full effect."

The smaller voice smartly remained quiet. The owner of the small and timid voice, a green mer with blue skin, shrunk back when his king's cruel red eyes fell on him.

"You are dismissed."

Quickly bowing to show his respect, the smaller mer was quick to escape his king's wrath.

"Oh, well. I have a perfect little hunter who would love a good challenge." A fanged smirk followed.

_LINE BREAK_  
Danny was missing home, there was nothing else on his mind right now, other than how much he just wanted to go home and wrap himself up in his Nasa blankets on his Nasa bed. He sighed into the open water, being careful not to wake his sleeping friends next to him. He supposed he should probably sleep as well, but he just couldn't. He missed home so much. His mom, his dad, Jazz, hell even Dash and Mr. Lancer. He missed it so much, and knowing that he can never go back is what finally caused to dam to burst. Clamping his hand over his mouth to quiet his sobs, he rolled over on his side and desperately tried to stay quiet as he sobbed. Apparently though, he wasn't quiet enough, as Sam's voice broke through the water.

"Danny? What's wrong?"

He didn't answer. He couldn't answer. His breath hitched when he felt her slender hand land on his shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head no. He heard her sigh before, next thing he knows, he's being encompassed in her thin yet strong arms.

"I'm sorry, Danny. I wish there was more we could do."

He shook his head into her shoulder. "S'not your fault."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

Sam heard something mumbled into her shoulder, but she was unable to catch it. "What was that?"

"I miss home so much." His sentence trailed off with a quiet sob.

Sam felt her heart break. It was then she made a resolution. She was going to find whoever did this and personally stick her fin up their tail. End of story.

Bringing a shaking hand up to his head, she began running her fingers through his glowing snow-white hair. "I'll be ok. Me and tucker are here for you every step of the way."

Danny let lose a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now I want you to sleep." She felt a sleepy nod in response. When his breathing slowed down and his grip went slack, she whispered, "Goodnight, Danny."


End file.
